The holiday lull

The interview I had two weeks ago went well, although they said they wouldn’t have a decision until after the new year. In a way, that was a relief, because I did not have to spend the next few days before Christmas waiting to hear, but now I’m waiting on pins and needles until I hear. We head down to Disney World on the 8th, so if I haven’t heard by then (I hope to and I hope that it is good news), I’ll bring the laptop down to be able to check email, etc. I’ll have my phone, of course, but being able to check email will help, too.

I had a good Christmas and it was nice to spend time with my wife and son. He stayed home from daycare on Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas, so he was home for 5 days in a row. He got a little off of his routine, but we’ll get him back into it just in time for the trip. When we get back, we’re going to try some changes with him, so we’ve been warning him for a little while now that some things will be different when he gets home.

I’ve done some work on the project I’m doing and done some job searching, although there’s not that much going on at this time of the year. I have applied to a few things, so the search hasn’t completely been suspended for the holidays, but it is going slower. I will ramp up the search quite a bit when we get back home.

Whatever it takes

I applied for a position with the state community college and university system here that required a certified typing test. I took it at the state workforce center nearest me and I passed on the first try (had to do at least 45 word per minutes and I did 48 wpm). I use a combination of touch typing and looking at the keys, even after almost thirty years of typing, but when I’m on a roll, I feel like I’m typing a blue streak. Apparently not, according to the test, but, then again, I type faster when I’m typing as I think, rather than as I read something that needs to be typed. Also, once I get into a groove, I think I’m quicker too.

My interview tomorrow is starting to nervous me up a little bit, but a part of the tension is because the weather is supposed to be bad here. Not as bad as in the southern part of the state, but still, I have to drive across the Twin Cities to get to the interview and then basically drive back during the beginnings of rush hour. It is definitely worth it and I hope that it is the first of many, many times that I make the drive.

Project work continues

I had a meeting today on the project I’m working on. It was great getting back into the swing of this kind of research and work. I definitely was energized by the meeting and I’m looking forward to working on the project next week.

I also have a third interview for a full-time position next Friday, so I’m hopeful that will come through. I don’t want to get too excited yet, because I feel like that jinxes me and I don’t get the positions I get really excited about. We’ll see how it goes next week.

Slow news weeks

With the holidays coming up, I figured I would keep looking for a job, but not have much success or interest from companies for interviews until after the New Year. Strangely, though, I’ve had several phone and in-person interviews, some of which have not panned out, and others I’m still waiting to hear about. I’m definitely not complaining, but it’s funny that the period I thought would be slow has been pleasantly active. Hopefully, something will come from this flurry of activity.

Strange days indeed

I’ve started the project with the former employer, so it feels good to be doing something again. Right now, I have a set number of hours that I will be paid for, but the hope is that after January 1, more funding will be available to expand the project and the work. I’ve also begun my focus (but not exclusively) on education job opportunities. I have submitted several applications, which I hope result in interviews.

So the strangeness comes from a feeling of being in somewhat of a netherworld, partly working, partly job hunting, partly taking care of family and house, all while training for the marathon.

The weather isn’t helping. I suppose I ought to rake the leaves, but I don’t feel like it. We’ll be getting snow showers this week and I’m not quite ready for that this year. Except for a white Christmas, I’m not a big fan of snow anyway.

Twitter, Facebook, Blogger oh my!

So I'm still searching for a new job. Had some good news about the former employer possibility, but won't start until next week at the earliest. Had a contractor call about a possible position, so hopefully I'll get an interview. I spent yesterday getting back into the swing of searching, did some work around the house, etc. I must say, though that even in the five weeks that I was on the contract position, I have come to see the possibilities of Twitter, Facebook, and blogging. Not as money-making propositions-not even sure how that would work with Twitter-but as easy ways to keep in touch with people. I follow about 20 people on Twitter and I doubt I'll ever meet half of them, but I still like to see what they are doing. There are other sites that are more useful for finding leads and contacts for work such as LinkedIn and even those sites keep me connected to many people. But here's the thing-you can spend all day on these sites if you're not careful and take a break. Someone like me who sees a tweet, a post, a link, or a blog that has interesting information can send me on a search through Google or through Wikipedia and eat away the hours.

Project done, moving on

So, today is the last day of my contract project position. It’s worked out well and it was great to get a paycheck again! I also have the project with my former employer lined up and should be starting that soon, hopefully sometime next week. I’m not sure how long it will take, but I’ll take anything right now, especially with this employer.

During the five weeks I was on this contract, I went through an interview process for a position I can only describe as ideal. I would have loved this work and enjoyed the working environment tremendously. The past tense of the last sentence should indicate that I didn’t get it. I was very disappointed when I found out this past Wednesday, but I’m getting better about it. Everyone I’ve talked with about it says that everything happens for a reason. I don’t disagree, but in matters relating to working, I’m not very patient, so I’d like whatever the reason is to show itself sooner rather than later. I know it will work out in the end and given that I left my old job at the end of May and had several interviews (and now this contract position) I’m not complaining, just impatient.

I find it interesting that I was not blogging during my time on the contract position, but I was actually busy with home-related things when I’d get done with work (I should point out that the office where I worked is three miles from my house). This included my training for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. I had to start running in the late afternoons and it was a bit of an adjustment, but I got used to it. I will enjoy going back to running in the mornings on Monday and I hope to be able to keep doing that during this next project. If not, late afternoons aren’t so bad.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to blog more, too, but we’ll have to see, I guess.